Wednesday, June 23, 2004

The geese laid the golden eggs and then moved on...

For a couple of years I have been anxiously following the sagas of the dispossessed in Zimbabwe and now I see that there is a glimmer of hope for those with the capacity to relocate.BBC NEWS | In pictures: Rebuilding

The farmers are moving to Zambia and are being welcomed with open arms. 300 Zimbabwe farmers have moved there so far.

What struck me about this family is the concern they show for the people they left behind, wondering if they are able to feed their families and hoping that they can.

The family have already trained and given livelihoods to 250 Zambians.

"A guy whose wife worked at the president’s office took over our farm and basically we had to get off." I hope the "guy" possesses the necessary farming skills, for the sake of the farm workers he made redundant.

The only problem I have with Doug and Anne Watt is that they are growing tobacco. Another article on the BBC news on the same day was about how smoking reduces life expectancy by ten years. There is more profit in tobacco and they need the money. They are planning the maize fields now.

The tobacco companies want a ten year contract with the Watts to secure a constant supply of a good quality product.

Who would imagine that the tobacco companies would be throwing anybody a lifeline. It really is quite ironic. The Watts deserve this lifeline and I wish them prosperity and success. Their crops are double that of Zimbabwe..... whoever would have believed it.

The Watts were able to take their transferable skills and shovels and get back to work. The notion of transferable skills applies to countries and not just jobs. "We left our farm in Karoi in September 2003" The time frame of nine months to turn their whole lives around and that of 250 Zambians is quite remarkable.